The University of Connecticut said Friday that it has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA that cites eight specific rules violations found regarding recruiting during a 15-month investigation into the men's basketball program.

Head coach Jim Calhoun and athletics director Jeff Hathaway were joined by Rick Evrard, the school's legal counsel at the news conference.

Hathaway opened by saying the school received the notice of allegations while he and Calhoun were out of town earlier this week.

"The University of Connecticut is fully committed to NCAA rules compliance and takes this matter very seriously," Hathaway said.

Calhoun, who recently agreed to a new five-year, $13 million contract with the school, also read a prepared statement and emphasized his and his program's commitment to complying with NCAA rules.

"We look forward to working with the NCAA in the coming months and expect to fully respond to their concerns," Calhoun said.

"No one wants this to happen," the coach said later. "Did I see it happening? No. So we're going to handle this the way we always handle things. Up front, transparently ... If we have made mistakes, we'll carry on."

The alleged violations include improper phone calls and text messages to recruits, and giving recruits improper benefits. Calhoun was cited for failing to "promote an atmosphere of compliance."

As an institution, UConn was cited for not adequately monitoring "the conduct and administration of the men's basketball staff in the areas of: telephone records, representatives of the institution's athletics interests; and, complimentary admissions or discretionary tickets."

The school, which will now work on a report to respond to the notice from the NCAA, declined to comment specifically on the allegations.

"The next phase is the opportunity for the university to ... understand and respond" to the NCAA allegations, Evrard said.

The university is to appear before the NCAA on Oct. 15 to respond to the allegations.

"It's not exactly, certainly anywhere near the high point of my career, as a matter of fact it's certainly one of the lowest points at any time that you are accused of doing something," Calhoun said. "It's a very serious matter."

"I am confident that the university will appropriately address and respond to this matter and continue cooperating fully with the NCAA as this process moves forward," University President Michael Hogan said in a statement. Hogan will be leaving the school next month to take a similar job at Illinois, leaving the investigation in the hands of interim president Philip Austin. Austin is familiar with the program, having served as UConn's president for 10 years before retiring in 2007.

Also at the news conference, the school officially announced the resignation of assistant coach Patrick Sellers and director of basketball operations Beau Archibald.

When Evrard was asked if it was "unusual" for two coaches to resign so close to the receipt of a notice of allegations, he said "in this case, it's just a matter of timing."

Hathaway then cleared up the timing of the resignations when he said "Beau resigned last Thursday and Patrick resigned this past Sunday."

Each coach released a statement through the school which were handed out to the media at Friday's news conference.

"Coaching is my passion and something I have spent many years of enjoyment doing," Sellers said. "I want the record to reflect this and for the people to see the respect and integrity that I will show toward the process in the months ahead."

The NCAA's probe started with a Yahoo! Sports report in March of 2009 that alleged former team manager Josh Nochimson, who is now an agent, helped guide recruit Nate Miles to the program with lodging, transportation, meals and representation.

As a team manager, Nochimson is considered a representative of the school and was prohibited from having an contact with Miles during his recruitment.

Miles was expelled from Connecticut in October 2008 without ever playing a game for the Huskies after he was charged with violating a restraining order in a case involving a woman who claimed he assaulted her. He played during the 2008-09 season for the College of Southern Idaho, and was cut last November by the NBA Development League's Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Documents released by the school last year showed many pages of phone and text message correspondence between Nochimson and UConn coaches Jim Calhoun; Tom Moore, who is now head coach at Quinnipiac; and Sellers.

The Huskies were 18-16 during the 2009-10, a season in which Calhoun missed seven games during the season while taking a medical leave of absence from his post.

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